New Beginnings
by Romione4Life
Summary: When Scorpius Malfoy sees Rose Weasley being bullied, he can't simply stand by and let it happen. The story of the beginning of Scorpius and Rose's friendship.


**Author's Note: This was written for round nine of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. My task was to write about Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy in a school setting.**

**Disclaimer: I must not tell lies! I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own any part of Harry Potter.**

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy was on his way to class when he saw it. Three Slytherin fifth years were smirking down at an irate Rose Weasley, blocking her path. Whenever she stepped to the side to go around them, they mirrored her, preventing her from advancing forward.

"Please move. I need to get to class," Rose was saying irritably.

"What are you going to do about it?" one of the Slytherins taunted her.

Scorpius sighed. He'd seen this same group of students bullying Rose for about a week now. He wasn't sure how his father would feel about him defending Harry Potter's niece, but he didn't care. Enough was enough.

Marching over to his housemates, Scorpius pulled out his wand and shoved it in their faces. "Leave her alone," he demanded. Rose's mouth dropped open.

Another of the Slytherins chuckled. "What do we have here?"

"We're on your side, kid," the third one put in. "In case you haven't noticed, she's a _Gryffindor_."

"I can see that perfectly well, thanks," Scorpius said.

Before anyone could say another word, Headmistress McGonagall interjected. "What in the world is going on?" she said. She swept into the middle of the conflict and caught sight of Scorpius with his wand aimed at the Slytherins. "There is absolutely no magic in the corridors!" she scolded.

"He didn't cast any spells, Professor," Rose said quickly. "He was just helping me with a little problem."

Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed as she turned them upon each of the students in turn. The Slytherins seemed to be trying their best to look innocent. "Very well," she said at last. "There will be no consequences for now, but consider this your warning. Now get to class!"

The Slytherins and the few students who had lingered to watch scurried away. Scorpius glared at them as they left. "Some people just don't get it," he muttered, tucking his wand back into the pocket of his robe. He turned to Rose.

"I'm sorry about them," he said. "Those kinds of Slytherins are the reason why our house has such a bad reputation."

"It's not your fault," Rose replied. The two first years began to walk down the corridor together. "You didn't have to do that, you know," she continued.

"They shouldn't be doing that stuff to you," Scorpius said with a shrug.

Rose smiled. "Thanks. I'm Rose Weasley, by the way," she said.

"I know," Scorpius said. It was pretty hard not to know the daughter of two famous war heroes. "I'm Scorpius. Malfoy," he added after a moment's hesitation.

"I know," Rose said.

"You do? How?" Scorpius said in shock. He wouldn't expect Rose Weasley to know him. They certainly weren't talking about _his_ family in the Daily Prophet. Not since the Death Eater trials that happened years ago, anyway.

Rose appeared to be about to answer, but then she simply shook her head. "Never mind. Don't worry about it." She cleared her throat. "Hey, I have to get to Charms, but thank you again for helping me out."

"Don't mention it," Scorpius said. "Thanks for getting me out of trouble with McGonagall."

"It was the least I could do," Rose said. "Well, I'll see you around." She waved and hurried away, and Scorpius watched her go with a small smile. That had gone much better than he could've expected.

* * *

For a while after the encounter with the Slytherins, Scorpius kept an eye on Rose to make sure everything was all right. Unbeknownst to him, she was doing the same with him. She didn't want anyone going after him because he'd defended her.

One evening Scorpius walked into the library to find Rose sitting by herself at a table, buried in a mound of books and parchment. When a quick scan of the room revealed the Slytherins standing in the vicinity, Scorpius immediately dropped into a seat beside Rose.

"Hi," he greeted her. He spoke softly so as not to startle her, but she still jumped slightly, and her head snapped up to look at him.

"Oh. It's you," she said. She sounded relieved, but Scorpius couldn't tell for sure.

"I can leave if you don't want me here," he said.

"No, no, you can stay," Rose insisted. She cleared a spot on the table so Scorpius could set down his belongings. Scorpius settled himself and then leaned a little closer to Rose to speak privately with her.

"Those guys haven't been bullying you anymore, have they?" he asked, just to make sure. After all, he couldn't watch out for her all the time.

Rose shook her head. "You?" she said.

"No," Scorpius said.

"Good," Rose said with a satisfied nod.

With nothing else to say at the moment, they worked together in an easy silence for a while. Scorpius found that he enjoyed Rose's company even without speaking. He couldn't believe that she was so comfortable being around him; since she had known who he was before, she undoubtedly knew his family history too. But if she wasn't going to say anything about it, then neither was he.

After some time had passed, Scorpius said, "I think I'm going to head back to my dormitory. It's getting late."

"Okay," Rose said. "Thanks for sitting with me. It was nice."

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed, pleased that she felt the same way he did. "We should spend time together more often."

"Definitely," Rose said. "Bye, Scorpius."

Soon after Scorpius left, Rose decided that she should probably finish up, too. She gathered up the books she wanted to take with her and replaced the rest on the shelves. Then she headed out of the library.

"Rose!" a familiar voice called as she stepped out. Rose turned to see her older cousin, James Sirius, and slowed down so he could catch up.

"What's up, James?" she said when he reached her.

"I saw you sitting with Scorpius Malfoy," James said. "Was he bothering you?"

"Of course not!" Rose exclaimed. "Quite the opposite, actually."

"Oh," James said. He seemed a little surprised. "Well, if you ever have any problems with him, you can let me know."

"Will do," Rose promised, though she didn't think she'd ever need James' assistance.

"Okay," James said. "Good night then."

"Good night," Rose said. She waited until James was out of earshot and then laughed quietly to herself. "Some people just don't get it."


End file.
